England’s players believe they have no option but to match Ireland’s “fighting” qualities if they want to make a fast start to the Six Nations. They have not beaten their hosts or even scored a try in their last three visits to Dublin and the scrum-half Ben Youngs has pinpointed the breakdown and aerial contest as crucial areas on Saturday.
“With Irish teams you talk about the passion but really they just love the fight,” said Youngs, set to win his 81st cap. “When I say the fight I am talking about the breakdown, the aerial stuff, the bits of the game that are no talent required, niggly stuff. They are just mad for those little fights.
“I am not talking physical fights. With club or country, when we’ve come unstuck, it’s been around the breakdown. They’ve just been able to deal with it better, make it slower and frustrate you.
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“They’ve got a huge number of guys who can jackal and get over the ball and they’ve got a defensive system that puts you under pressure. It’s a huge strength of theirs. It’s caused us problems and it’s no surprise we’ve spent a lot of time focusing on the breakdown.”
Eddie Jones will announce his starting lineup on Thursday with Mike Brown hoping for a recall as England seek to defuse the threat of Johnny Sexton’s and Conor Murray’s tactical kicking. “Mike Brown’s ability to operate under the high ball is probably the best in the country,” Youngs said.
“Dealing with the high ball is still a phenomenal strength of his game. You suspect Ireland will certainly test us with contestable kicks and use that as weapon as they have done in the past. Seeing someone like Mike back involved in the squad is terrific, because he adds a huge amount of experience in that area.”
Youngs said it will not bother him unduly whether his Leicester teammate George Ford or Owen Farrell is standing at first receiver as England finalise their midfield in the absence of the injured Ben Te’o.
“Losing someone of Benny’s qualities is never ideal this close to the game but what we do have are a lot of great players to cover centre,” Youngs said. “With Benny missing out it opens the door for others. We just have to adapt and we’ll be able to do that.
“The expectation is that Ireland are the best team in the northern hemisphere but the Six Nations is such a competitive tournament. That’s why everyone gets so engrossed in it, because you never really know.”